I Have Dreamt of the End
by J.Jocelyn
Summary: During their time on Mortis, Anakin does more than bring Ahsoka back; he breathes the very essence of life into her. "The force of life never dies, it merely changes form. . ." AU. Post Season 5. High T/Low M for violence. First Fanfic!
1. Episode 00

_Author's Note: _The Son does not die on Mortis and Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka manage to escape with the help of the Father. . .AU after Mortis. Post Season 5.

___For my best friend, Megan. I wouldn't have been able to do this or move along without your help and encouragement._

* * *

_Chapter 00_

* * *

_The Citadel_

"Master Plo, he just doesn't understand, Master Skywalker is just too _blind _to see that it is my life to risk, not his. I really want to help Master Piell get out, but he doesn't want me to go, what do you think, Master?" Master Plo sees the youngling's eyes turn round and doe like, honestly needing his opinion.

Master Plo sighs and looks down at Ahsoka with fond exasperation. "Youngling, I am sure that the correct decision will make itself clear soon enough."

Ahsoka smiles and hugs Master Plo running off to her fighter and getting her gear. He watches her sneak around to the other side of the carbon freezer and pay off the operator so that he would carbon freeze her as well. He watches her jump into the carbon freezing tube and he watches as all the other Jedi's assigned to the mission jump into one as well.

* * *

Anakin feels Ahsoka's arm brushing up against his. Her body heat is sinking into his side and he feels her tense form up against him.

"Snips, you mind some space?" He looks at her curiously and she seems clueless until she notices how close his face is. Her lekku flush vibrantly and she turns away to hide her embarrassment, quickly scooting back a few spaces. Then like a magnet to metal she feels this physical pull to him, and although she has the strength to deny the pull, she almost doesn't want to.

A droid suddenly appears and before Anakin can even blink, Ahsoka slices through it's midsection with a well aimed strike. She looks back at her master for some sort of praise. He is surprised at her accuracy and focus. Instead of going into a speech of praise he simply smirks and puts hand on his hip.

"Good job, Snips, never knew you had it in you." Her smile disappears and she instead settles for a half hearted glare.

* * *

She sees the trackers appear on the top of the slope. They snarl and rush down at herself and Master Piell. They try to fight, but they can only hold off so many at a time. Many run past Ahsoka and rush towards Master Piell. She can hear his screams of terror and pain and his painful injuries fuel her as she slays tracker after tracker.

When no more seem to come, she quickly runs over to Master Piell and holds his limp form in her lap. He tries to speak and finally gets out the last part of the code for the secret travel route that would lead them straight to the heart of separatist territory.

She runs back to Anakin needing his presence beside her. She craves it like air and this deep ache fills her until she reaches his side, collapsing beside him and gasping for air.

"Snips!" he shouts, running and sliding down on his knees to her petite form. He picks her up, checking her over. She had carried Master Piell and they see his limp silhouette on the ground. She sees all of their gazes and begins to sob out muttered apologizes.

"I'm sorry, master. I couldn't save him, I tried so hard. There were too many and they came so fast and I couldn't do it. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

He grabs her face and cupped her cheek. "Snips," he commands with a slightly stern tone, "look at me," he gets out and finally her round blue eyes glance upward, staring up at him with almost complete obedience and implicit trust. "It was _not_ your fault." He is so stern and commanding that Ahsoka almost wants to believe him, but Master Piell's body seems to convince her otherwise. The tears begin to reform and Anakin just holds her close.

"Snips, let's go, let's get out of here."

* * *

_Padawan Lost_

She feels this overwhelming sensation of _something_. It flows through her bones and wakes her with a gasp for air.

"Master," is the only words her mind can muster up. Nothing else matters but him at the moment and her body jumps to attention before remembering where it is. The call of wildlife is what brings her out of her daze and she remembers that she has been kidnapped to be hunted for sport.

The Trandoshan hunters are cruel and ruthless killers. This overwhelming desire to get everyone out of here consumes her but that hope flickers and dies when Kalifa, the leader of their group, gets shot down when out scouting the area. Ahsoka feels this deep ache when she dies like it was part of her that has died along with this brave little youngling, forced too early to have all these responsibilities thrust upon her.

In the battle field men are left to rot where they are shot, but Ahsoka can't leave Kalifa to be hacked up like an animal and her head to be mounted on a wall. She lays her in the groove of a tree, well hidden by vines. Her body will go back into the circle of life, the death wish of any true Jedi.

And that is her first mistake. Now running from this crazy Trandoshan hunter she puts all of her Jedi training to good use. She can almost hear the shots of the rifle turn into the sounds of a swinging lightsaber as her master and herself practiced avoidance maneuvers.

She hears the short, out of breath tone her master used when she became too good at the game and even hears a whispered "_Duck, Snips" _as a blaster fire sails over her crouched form and blasts into a tree trunk.

She runs and runs and finally by accident she pushes the hunter onto spikes in the forest floor. They pierce him and he dies. She looks down at his form and knows it was always going to end like this. One of them was going to die, and without a doubt in her mind, she knows she is going to see her master again.

It is surprisingly a wookie that helps her escape the planet. He builds a transmitter out of some scrap metal from the transporter she helped crash. She held herself high after that, becoming the leader of the mission.

Chewbacca's people finally find them and help them take down the Trandoshan hunting base and Ahsoka feels it deep in her bones, the primal satisfaction of pleasing her Master. His face when they finally touched down at the Jedi Temple is better than anything she has ever seen.

The whole tragedy of the ordeal seems to melt out of her as he touches her. She physically sags and Anakin begins to support her weight expertly, starting to lead her to a medical bay to be checked out by a droid.

Yoda watches with a puzzled face. He can practically see the aura of the young padawan pulsing off waves of powerful force energy. In fact she seems to be filled with it. She has never been near that strong before. The master watches them and vows to himself to keep a close eye.

* * *

_Water War_

No one could have predicted that it would turn out like this. Ahsoka pushes herself through the wave of droids, slaying them with simple brutality. Unfortunately, the wave starts to turn in favor of the separatists.

Anakin finds her in the middle of the battle and hands her Prince Lee Char. He orders her to go with him and and to hide him deep in the caves underground.

Ahsoka watches as this timid leader commands her with the partial confidence of the commander and the timidity of a child. The natural rebellion inside of her, neither wants nor needs this prince to command her, but she somehow knows that this is supposed to happen.

She allows him to make all the calls as she simply rallies the troops. No one can really see what this prince is bound to do. Ahsoka is having to organize this whole thing with Anakin gone.

As she spends more time with him, she watches as he shapes himself into the king he is meant to be, and it even gets to the point where no one is surprised when the battle finally turns in favor of the Republic. And soon, the battle is over.

Everyone rejoices as Prince Lee Char is elected into office. He becomes king of the Mancala people and Anakin looks at Ahsoka at the end, smiling and clapping just as loud as the rest of those around them.

* * *

_A War on Two Fronts _

"_Remember, Snips, remain focused. Intention comes before emotions." _

Ahsoka tries to remember this as she watches Lux grow closer and closer to this rebel leader, Steela. She hasn't realized it yet, how close she had been to Lux; how close she had wanted to be. She silently ponders. It isn't really like Lux had been hers at anytime. She has no right to be jealous of any of the women he truly wants, but despite all the evidence, she is.

The solitary life of a Jedi leaves much to be desired. She has never received attention from a man, much less ever had to chance to be in a relationship with one. When she and Lux had to play pretend and be in a relationship, it must have affected her more than she thought.

They fight these droids, and really it is the first mission that Ahsoka has no master to turn to. Of course she and Anakin still have communications by hologram every night, but it is different. In battle with her master, she could turn to him for praise and to anchor her when the adrenaline of battle would overwhelm her senses.

She can feel it as she rides the tank to the power station, this undeniable _something _that is now flowing through her veins. And as the fighting starts she feels the rush of adrenaline threaten to drown her in its power. She pushes her instincts back and focuses on cutting down one droid at a time, until she can hear the roar of battle around her again. As the fighting comes to a close, she leans against a building feeling drained and exhausted.

Her little band of rebels is too busy celebrating their victory to notice her. She doesn't want them to. The shaking in her hands tells her something is wrong, and she takes breath after breath to calm them.

But they don't stop. She cannot find her control.

She must find somewhere to mediate soon, to calm the churning, thrashing force within her. The fear rises that she could seriously injure someone. She rushes away from the group as shame overcomes her. Her master finally entrusts her with a simple mission-train the rebels-and she loses control on their first major take over. She is a shame to the Jedi name.

Tears roll down her face as she finally finds a quiet spot on a rooftop to meditate. No one can find her here; there is no one she can injure. She can finally put her mind at ease. Her force reaches out trying to find another nearby, but no one is there. The feeling of isolation seeps into her bones.

_Their fingers were inches away._

If she concentrates hard enough, she can even imagine that they brushed against each other. The roaring pain split through her shoulder like the venom of the predators that inhabit her home planet. Her concentration broke for a fraction of a second and that was all it took for _her_ to fall. It took Ahsoka mere moments to recover enough to remember that she had been about to save someone.

She viewed Steela's motionless corpse over the edge of the rock face and that scream haunted her as she looked upon the body. Her whole body seemed to sag and her eyes brimmed with tears. There was a deep pain in her chest, like she couldn't breathe. She felt the dirt beneath her palms turn to dry, parched earth. The small grass shoots turned dead and dry. It seemed as if parts of Onderon around her had died with Steela Gerrera.

* * *

Master Obi-Wan watches carefully at Steela's funeral. Anakin is distracted, his padawan's physical injury concerning him more than anything. Ahsoka is by no measure a delicate thing that needs to be protected, but she has yet to become accustomed to death. Her eyes tell the master everything he needs to know. She thinks of this young girl's death as her fault.

Then, as she looks upon Lux the master knows. Her feelings run deeper than friendship, but she will never act on it. Then, as she apologizes to the fallen rebel's brother, he sees it again. She thinks she has taken three lives: the life this brother could have had with his sister, the life of two would-be lovers, and a person who should still be breathing and living for her planet.

He is broken out of his observations as Anakin nudges his shoulder. "Does Ahsoka seems any different to you?" Obi-Wan looks closer and he seems to feel the aura of grief and pain around her. No one should be able to project emotions that powerfully. He simply chalks it up to the passing of recent events.

"Just watch her, Anakin. I am a little worried about her."

Anakin looks at his old master, puzzled, but nods his head obediently.

* * *

_Sabotage _

_It's not possible for someone to bomb the Jedi temple, how can they?_ Ahsoka is thinking as they go through the wreckage of the attack. She can feel the screams and the cries of death. The last breath of everyone is forced upon her at once and she almost stumbles back.

There are tears pricking at the back of her eyes and the screams only get louder and louder. She tries to ignore them but they continue on rattling and moaning in her head. She wants to scream and cry out but everything is locked in her throat with no escape, and no turning back. Someone shakes her and it is then that she notices she is curled on the floor, sobbing.

She touches the wetness on her cheeks and her brain almost can't make the connection for a minute that they're here. Everything in her being is concentrated on those innocent victims. Her master's touch makes it easier to stifle the tears.

"I-I-I'm sor-sorry, m-m-master," she finally gets out around trying to get air into her rapidly expanding and contracting lungs. Anakin is looking at her like she is a mental patient but the concern in his wide eyes is extremely touching. He picks her up in a maiden carry and she nestles her head against his chest. Her hollow montrals can pick up the steady beating of his heart and it easily calms her rapidly approaching panic attack.

* * *

She wakes up, having not meant to fall asleep. Her eyes blink open and she comes face to face with the sleeping visage of Anakin Skywalker. Her hands are curled-or more like locked-into his robes. His hands are wrapped around her, pulling her in close. She can smell his scent and it smells so. . .enticing.

Leaning in closer, she hears his quick intake of breath just before his eyes open. Stunning deep blue meets electrifying ocean blue. They both retract their hands at once and Ahsoka has to focus and allow the muscles of her hands to unclench from his robes as they both look away at the same time. Her master is obviously the first one to speak.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay, Snips." He sounds immensely concerned and it unnerves her. Time to turn it to banter, something she knows how to control.

"Looks like you just wanted to nap, master." She smiles playfully.

His eyes show thankfulness and he smirks in reply. "Snips, your hands were fisted so tight in my robes I was afraid if I tried to extract your fingers they would rip and you know the lecture I would get from Obi Wan and Windu. I would never hear the end of it." He smiles back.

She giggles and they lay there, simply looking at each other, coexisting, coinciding, concurring.

* * *

_The Jedi Who Knew too Much _

"_It wasn't me!" _

Ahsoka runs down the halls, dodging clone troopers left and right. She would have never strangled Letta. The padawan girl can't help but be scared, however, she will find the culprit. But here, no one will listen to her here. She is a criminal and this whole setup is just making her look more and more guilty by the second.

She runs down the halls and finally takes to the ceilings to dodge what she thought to be her loyal friends. She knows they are just following orders and that's what good clones do, but still. . . it hurts. She keeps looking around, trying desperately to find her master. She continually reaches out for his force presence, seeing if he is near enough to help her.

He is nowhere to be found and she begins to panic, feeling the tears start to prick at the back of her eyes. She finally makes it out in front of the prison and takes off. Flipping to the top of the clone statues that line the prison she has been kept in. She maps the clone search parties distributed around the prison. She doesn't see one of them though, but hears them shout her position. Again she takes off into the now pounding rain, desperately trying to reach her master.

Finally, she feels his presence. It almost makes her stumble as she feels it forcefully tugging at hers, pleading with her to go back. She knows she can't go back, but pulls his presence closer, needing him for what she is about to do.

Unexpectedly, they corner her on the pipes that lead to give the temple everything that it needs. She knows that she cannot take all of them, even with all the training she has had. The lights are on her and someone is shouting something through a loudspeaker. She knows he is looking at her and she turns to him, meeting his eyes with the kind of wild desperation that is found in the animals that haunt the grasslands of her native planet. She finally sees the way out is not up, but down. She sticks her lightsaber through the piping and sees that it is not simply a pipe, but a line to the sewer. She takes off into the sewer and feels some sense of security at the multiple levels of mazes that twists and turns provide. She easily evades most of the clones, although her master is a different story. She knows that he is attuned to her presence and that he will easily find her if she does not move quickly and efficiently.

She moves her way through the sewers, though not as quickly as she would have liked, but eventually gets her way to the outpour of the sewer and doesn't like the outcome. It is a straight drop to the bottom level of Coruscant. None of the transports are in her jumping range and the panic is rising. She can hear all of the clones steadily getting closer and then she can feel Anakin's presence at her back.

She turns to him and the look in his eye is equal to the look of a young boy and that is when she really realizes how young her master really is. He is only five years older than her, but she respects him as if he is as old and wise as Master Yoda. But now, she knows that his training can go no farther.

"Snips, what are you doing?" her master asks desperately. "You need to come back."

"I'm sorry, master, I can't. Someone has set me up and no one is listening."

"Snips, I believe you, but you've got to come back." Anakin looks like he is two seconds away from rushing to restrain her, but Ahsoka knows she must escape now. She turns away and breaks eye contact with her master. "Ahsoka, I am ordering you back as your master." Anakin's voice takes on a commanding tone and nothing else matters but her need to escape now.

"I'm sorry, master, but I need to prove my own innocence." His look softens and he seems to understand. The clones then see them and as they pull up behind her master she flips onto a transport that has finally come near enough. She lets gravity take her and relaxes into the fall. Her feet make contact with the transport and she looks back up at her master. Their eyes meet and she knows that he will buy her as much time as possible, but he can only give her so long.

* * *

_The Wrong Jedi _

_Betrayal! All of them! They all betrayed you! _is the thought that runs through Ahsoka's head as she walks away from the only home she has ever known. It is blaring like it's the only words she has ever thought. She has disappointed her master, her Anakin, her friend, the only person that had believed her. That is what cut her the most, he had believed in her to not leave him, but to come back to him.

Everyone seems to look at her as she walks past, they all were there during the trial, they all see her as an oppressed hero who fought until the end. Their faces seem to darken as they look upon her, as if they feel every inch of her pain, all the anger, rage, sadness, hurt, guilt, and most importantly the utter and complete betrayal.

"Ahsoka! Ahsoka I need to talk to you!" She stops, the reflex and feeling in her gut easier to obey. She talks to him and she knows his pain, the pain of being kept from the ones you love. She knows all this pain, the inklings of doubt beginning to filter into everyone's mind.

"I understand what it's like wanting to leave the order," he whispers to her sullenly.

"I know, Anakin." She fashions her padawan braid around his wrist and ties it with a crude knot. She walks off, one tear coming down for all the ones she will lose, forget, despise and cherish the memory of for the rest of her life.

As she boards a transport at the bottom of the temple to take her to the lower levels, she sees a cloud seem to pass over the temple making it dark. It gives Ahsoka a little niggling sense of satisfaction, but more than anything she hurts, hurts all over, not like the pain of battle, but the pain of emotions that she has allowed to wreak havoc all over her decisions. That will change. . . hopefully.

* * *

_Mortis_

The slick sound of a blade through flesh is like music to a dark one's ears, it should bring smiles and laughs of utter lunacy, bring joy to cause screams of fear, pain and loss. The Son feels none of that as he sees the light die from his father's eyes. They have been fighting and finally he thinks his father has surrendered. The light has finally died and he sends his father to join his beloved sister, putting him in the grave beside her, letting the rock slide into place, letting eternal peace wash over the two of them, for they deserve it. But he can still feel sister's light presence out there somewhere and it angers him, feeling but never touching, never seeing.

He sits in his temple, feeling out into the universe, searching for _her. _He gets brief images of white and blue striped lekku and he almost laughs at the irony. She is where his sister had gone? That small and spirited visitor, she is his new "sister?" He guesses that somehow it fits-she possess the fire and spirit that his sister had lacked, something he always wished she had. Now he knows she can truly match him in every way.

He chuckles, turning into full roaring laughter.

"This is going to be good," his quiet, yet jovial voice says to his deserted planet at large. "I am going to have a lot of fun with this one."

He hums as he walks, the planet steadily falling apart around him. He keeps humming a little tune as the door to Mortis gapes open. The planet begins to disappear around him, leaving black nothingness in its place. He views it with a morbid sort of beauty, his home world will die so he can bring something new. Even Mortis abides by the law of the universe: for the new to flower and flourish, the old must wither and die.

His humming stops abruptly and he feels this deep sense of peace as the black nothingness claws nearer and nearer, snarling and threatening to envelop him, eat him up, make sure that the universe will cease to know that he ever existed, and that, presents a problem, because he has to find his family, sister, and the chosen one, and reunite across the stars again. He looks down at the blackness and then turns back to the door of Mortis, looking out into space.

"_And here we go." _The blackness takes over.

* * *

_This prologue is a replica of the show with minor tweaks that will later come into play in the rest of the story. This story is in the layout of the show, meaning that there is a part of the story that will take three "episodes," a few political episodes, followed by another piece of the story. Please bare with us, there is in fact a plot! Each chapter is roughly 5K. R&R!_


	2. Episode 1

_Author's Note: Okay guys, just a couple of things. First, I will try to update more regularly. Megan and I are working ahead, but I keep stopping, so it's all my fault really. Second, th__is story is in the layout of the show, meaning that there is a part of the story that will take three "episodes," a few political episodes, followed by another piece of the story. There will only be 23 chapters total. Third, it will take a small amount of time for Ahsoka to appear. We have her in later chapters, and she is in fact a main character, she simply appears a little later. Fourth, this takes place through and after season six, so Anakin will be a little OCC due to Ahsoka's leaving. And fifth,if you find any mistakes please tell us. This story is unbeta-ed. That's it! Enjoy!  
_

___Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or followed and/or favorited this story. We appreciate it! _

* * *

_Episode 1_

* * *

Obi-Wan waits patiently for his old Padawan on the platform. Hands folded behind his back, he hears the gentle roar of engines in the distance and looks to see Anakin's fleet entering the atmosphere.

His blue eyes fix on the head gunship, painted with a thick slab of red paint to signify it as the leader. They fly towards Obi-Wan's position at the landing dock and he watches them all land, one by one, the crew spilling out, congratulating each other on a battle well fought.

Then there is Anakin.

He is the last to pile off the ship, always dependable Anakin, putting the crew before himself, always. But there is no bright smile or joyful hollers like the rest of the crew. He is hunched from an injury to his back a couple missions ago, putting him out of commission for awhile. He has just now been allowed to go back. His eyes are no longer warm, they try, but usually it looks like the cold mud of a Trandoshan moon.

He looks haunted.

His cheeks are just now regaining their color and his skin always has a grayish hue to it now. His robes fit him like rags and he is skinny and he uses a cane now. His dull eyes spot Obi-Wan and a spark of life glitters and then dies somewhere in their depths. He walks with a temporary limp caused by his injury and leans heavily on his cane.

"How did the battle fare?" asks Obi-Wan, clapping him on the back.

Anakin stumbles a bit but then smiles, faking it the whole way. "I would say Captain Rex and his men deserve a long overdue break. They fought very well today."

Obi-Wan stops, missing the times the knight would sprint across the training room to go mess with the other clones or to go train with his Padawan.

"She's on Shili."

Anakin halts, the last echo of his cane hitting the floor sounding like blaster fire. He can hear Anakin's breathing start to labor and he can see his body start to tremble. He turns around with too much speed and agility for a man with an injury and is in the other knight's space in a fraction of a second.

"I told you to leave it alone Obi-Wan! She made her choice and that was to leave! I could have helped her, but she decided to leave the Order and that was her mistake!"

Everyone is looking at them now and Anakin can already feel the reports coming in.

_"Master Skywalker is unfit for active duty -" _

_"- dangerous to the objective of the mission -" _

_" - he has become too attached." _

He looks back at them all dead in the eyes.

"Move along," he growls.

They scurry away to the clone dormitories and whisper among themselves, eyeing Anakin.

"Do not bring up the Padawan again Master Kenobi," Anakin warns dangerously as he limps out of the hanger.

* * *

Anakin stands in front of the council, relaying news from his finished mission to Geonosis.

All the Jedi nod and mentally take reports. Master Yoda shifts and gathers the attention.

"There is a disturbance in the force."

He pulls up map of the outer rim galaxies and a small beacon of blue shines up in the center.

"There." He points and makes a small humming sound.

"A strong force, there is. Know what it is, I do not." Anakin moves forward ready to leave and be on his way to another mission.

"Would you like for Master Kenobi and I to perform a reconnaissance mission for you, Master?"

Yoda hums and shakes his head. "No. Assemble a team, I shall."

The rest of the Council nods at the silent dismissal of their meeting and stand one by one before making their way out of the room. Obi-Wan and Anakin go to follow, but Master Yoda calmly calls out,

"A warning I have for you, Master Skywalker. Stay here, we will."

Obi-Wan catches Anakin's eye before taking his leave. The Jedi Knight waits patiently for his older Master to walk to his position before he looks down questioningly.

"Be cautious, you must. A feeling, I have, that this is larger than all of us. Trust your senses and with time all will be revealed." Anakin studies the old master closely, looking for any signs that will give him an explanation. After finding none, he nods slowly and turns to continue his way out of the room.

* * *

With his hand clutching the handle, Anakin Skywalker tries to drown out the sound of canons and explosives surrounding him and his men. It has been only about a week after his last battle, but in those seven days, he's been restless.

When he was given a new mission, Anakin was practically jumping for joy - well as much as he could with an injury - because anything was better than being at the Temple, being stared at and pitied endlessly.

His grip tightens after one explodes relatively close to his gunship. He sways slightly from the small impact and coughs as the smoke contaminates the air.

"Sergeant, close the shield doors!" he calls to the front. Immediately he receives a response and seconds later the doors slam shut.

"They're attacking us pretty heavily, sir," Rex comments after the aircraft shakes yet again from another close explosive.

"This is an important planet, Rex," Anakin says. "It's essential that we don't let the Separatists gain control of it or the war could turn in their favor."

"What exactly is on this planet?" Rex questions. Anakin goes to respond, but before he can, his com link beeps with a transmission.

"_Anakin can you hear me?"_ Obi-Wan's familiar voice is slightly muffled by the caustic cacophony. He brings it closer to his ear so that he make out the oncoming messages easier.

"Loud and clear, Master," Skywalker replies.

"_Luminara's gunship has been shot down. It seems the droids were prepared for our attack." _

"Do you want me to go and aid her?"

"_No. You and your squadron are to continue as planned. Cody and I are going to her location and we will meet up with you as soon as we can."_

"On it," he replies. He looks up to Rex and raises an eyebrow. "Are the men ready?"

"We were born ready, sir," Rex answers, raising his pistol. "Let's go kill some clankers."

* * *

Anakin, Rex, and their men jump swiftly from the gunship and move hurriedly to the rocks for cover. Both commanding men turn to see numerous clones be shot down by their adversaries.

Anakin steals a glance over the rocks to see hundreds of droids closing in on them. He turns to Rex thoughtfully, thinking of a way to take them out easily. Spotting the backpack of one of his fallen troopers, his eyes alight with a sudden, short plan.

Rex follows his line of sight and sees what his commander sees. He reaches into his own pack and grabs a number of metallic spheres.

"Droid poppers!" Rex calls. His men follow his lead and too toss the small weapons at the offending bots. The small thought and action takes all of a few seconds - a minute at most - before a good fifteen percent of the enemies fall to the ground stunned.

Anakin, who is still injured but has yet to let it stop him, maneuvers skillfully over the rocks and charges the droids head on, all the while being sure to maintain most of his weight on his newly favored left leg.

His commander and squadron quickly join him on the offense. Slowly the enemy numbers diminish as droid after droid falls, utterly defeated. It isn't long before the only thing they face is a small number of droidekas who are easily overcome with the mere flick or a wrist and a rolling popper.

The remaining members of the squad draw together in the center of the now silent battle field awaiting orders. Anakin scopes the area one last time before disarming his lightsaber and mentally taking note of the number of clones he has left.

Everyone takes a moment to gather their breath and shake away the building fatigue before standing strong in perfect surrounding formation.

"Sir?" Rex inquires. Anakin overlooks everything yet again then turns to Rex fully.

"Check the supplies. We need to know what he have left to work with before moving on."

"Right way, sir." Rex salutes before turning to complete the given task.

* * *

Obi-Wan observes the battle below through open shield doors. His eyes run wild from place to place looking for his comrades damaged ship. He tilts his head towards the pilot before asking, "Any sign of them?"

The pilot shakes his head subconsciously as he calls back, "None, sir. I don't see anything - wait! There, roughly three miles and to the right."

Obi-Wan as well as the rest of the clones aboard turn to the given direction. They see nothing at first until Cody calls it.

"There. I see the smoke."

"Yes," Kenobi says, "as do I. Sergeant, how close can you get us to the sight?" The pilot goes to reply, however, he is distracted by oncoming vulture droids. He uses evasive maneuvers skillfully, but their right wing still manages to be hit.

The passengers lurch forward at impact and tighten their grip on the handles. Obi-Wan, who still needs an answer, calls out to the pilot again.

"Sorry, sir. We were hit pretty bad, but I think I can get you in range by a couple hundred feet."

"That will have to do."

They all held on tightly as they neared their target due to the amount of explosives growing, and their accuracy getting better. The pilot tries his hardest to keep the aircraft up in the air for the longest amount of time, but slowly the ground grows closer and closer.

"We're losing altitude!" he shouts as a warning. Clones begin to wait expectantly for the impending crash. Soon, the gunship dives head first towards the ground. "I can't hold it any longer," the pilot grunts as the steering mechanism moves frantically.

"Brace yourselves!" Cody yells, and seconds later, the ship impacts.

* * *

Luminara regards as piles of bodies and machinery build on both sides of the battle. It's a struggle trying to maintain their perimeter but she and the men fight on. Together, the team fights strongly, but she can see them beginning to wear down and she hopes someone is coming to help.

As soon as she crashed, her and her men were surrounded on all sides. In order to defend their location and not be killed off easily, she had used the force to moves the wreckage from the ships to act as barriers against the enemies assault.

They manage a small circle in the center for all of the wounded men. Luminara knows that they need medical attention, but the droids are scrambling their com links.

Seeing a section of her squadron struggling, she moves quickly to aid them in their defense. Droid after droid she cuts down consistently. When the amount of droids on the side lessens, she moves back to her previous position. She spares a second to glance at the horizon for any sign of reinforcements and sighs when she sees none. Unable to dwell on the fact, she rushes back into the fight after hearing another one of her men being cut down.

In spite of all the clones give, they are slowly becoming overwhelmed. Slowly the are pushed back towards the center of their defense as more droids draw closer. Unknowing of what to do, Luminara begins contemplating the choice to surrender if it means her men will be spared.

Doubt starts to settle in the Jedi Master's head just as she hears the familiar voice of a longtime friend.

"Luminara!"

"Master Kenobi?" she questions to herself. It takes a second due to weariness for her to comprehend that Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is in fact, fighting his way to her location. Upon her realization, she cuts the last of the droids in front of her before turning and shouting back, "Master Kenobi!"

As the remaining clones take notice of the reinforcements, they fight back with a new vigor to win. Together the two groups fight and fight up until the point of no droids standing. When the last of them lay dead, the two teams slowly converge at the center of their "base." Luminara smiles tiredly at Master Kenobi when he comes to her.

"It's good to see you standing, Luminara." Luminara sighs a painful sigh.

"Yes, but if only there were more standing along side us. We have lost many men in this fight." Obi-Wan nods in agreement and offers himself as a support for his ally. He walks her over to a supply crate and sets her down gently. A medic comes to her aid and checks her over.

"There's nothing too bad," he explains as he gives her a shot in her neck, "but this will help any pain that you may be feeling." Luminara gives her thanks and takes a second to rest. Commander Cody walks to their position to relay his collected information.

"It seems you got hit hard; there aren't many of them left standing and many men are injured."

"Right," Kenobi responds. "Look to the injured, but we need to move soon. Anakin's still out there doing who knows what."

* * *

Anakin and his men slowly come to a halt at the end of the canyon wall. A clone moves silently to the front, and using his equipment, scopes out the area.

"No signs of movement, sir." Anakin nods and looks to his men, noting the air of fatigue.

"Alright men, we'll set up camp here, but be ready. We are moving soon; masters Kenobi and Luminara are depending on us to complete this mission, so we will."

One by one, each clones removes his helmet and settles onto the hard ground. They sigh collectively, glad to be resting. Rex remains by his superior's side awaiting further orders. He's not disappointed when Master Skywalker turns to him.

"Send some scouts up ahead. I want to know what we are going to be dealing with." The captain dips his head as a sign of understanding before calling out for two troopers.

"Net. Blaster." The two troopers jog to their commanding officer. "Lucky day, boys," Rex mocks, "you get to be our team scouts. Run ahead and report back at o-three-hundred." They sigh, disappointed, as the others chuckle at their lack of luck. Rex calmly raises an eyebrow at their action.

"Is there a problem, boys?"

"No, sir!"

"Good. Now get a move on." The two unlucky men sprint away quickly with the loud laughter of their teammates echoing in their ears.

* * *

As soon as they are out of sight, Net and Blaster slow to a mellow walk. Not even a second later, Net begins to complain.

"Why are we the ones elected to do 'recon?' We're clones, not patrol men."

Blaster mumbles his agreement but otherwise remains quiet, staying true to his name for he prefers to speak with his weapon and not with his mouth. Net, however, continues his rant, staying true to _his_ name; the man never shuts up and often lets his mouth run for miles - it's a rather ironic title.

The two trek onward, periodically shifting their blasters when the position becomes uncomfortable. Minutes pass silently until Net releases an annoyed sigh. He opens his mouth to speak but his partner tugs him to the side and out of sight of the main path.

"What?"

"I've got movement dead ahead," Blaster explains. Net looks out from their cover to see nothing. He steps into the open and turns to Blaster exasperated.

"There's nothing here -" Net dives practically onto his friend after nearly having his head shot clean off. "Droids," he states as if his partner doesn't know. The duo fire back unwilling to let their enemies come any closer.

"I told you," Blaster comments off-handedly.

Net immediately replies, "Oh, shut up." They hold off for as long as they can, but are smart enough to understand when they are outnumbered. Gradually they take step after step in the opposite direction of the droids. When an opening has been found, they take it and run but are sure to lead them away from their squadron.

They travel as far as they can and manage to lose their opposers in a small tunnels located in the canyon's walls. Net uses the time Blaster has offered by keeping an eye out for a quick breather.

"That," he breathes, "that was a close one."

* * *

Master Obi-Wan Kenobi glances around cautiously, scoping the area for anything unusual. He helps Luminara stand to her feet and calls over his commander.

"Cody, we've been here long enough. We need to get a move on. Anakin is still expecting us and without our com links he has no idea what happened."

"How do you want to proceed?"

"We need a squadron to maintain this base; the wounded will only slow us down. The rest of the men will move on with me. We will meet Anakin just like we planned. Gather the men."

"Right away, sir." Commander Cody salutes before going ahead with the plans. "Alright men, fall in line," Obi-Wan hears Cody call.

Knowing that Cody has everything under control, he turns his attention back to Luminara, who is sitting in deep thought.

"Luminara, are you alright?" She turns to him with a frown marring her usually peaceful face.

"I worry for Master Skywalker." Obi-Wan pauses at her spoken words. He, too, is worried for his old padawan. He has been different ever since Ahsoka's choice to leave the Order, but surely she has not noticed? Anakin does very well when it comes wearing a mask.

"If there's anyone that knows how to handle a situation, it's Anakin." Luminary gazes at him unimpressed.

"You know as well as I, that that is not what I was speaking about." Obi-Wan holds a steady stare unwilling to give up the wanted information. Seeing that he is going to remain silent, she continues on. "He is different, is he not? Ever since Padawan Tano left, he has become, well, darker. And I know you sense it too."

"It is merely Anakin's way of coping." Obi-Wan plays. Though the chances are next to never, he is not willing to forfeit any information regarding his former apprentice. Luminara sighs at his choice of response.

"I can tell that you are unwilling to speak of this with me, but maybe you can speak to someone?"

No response.

"Anyone?" she tries again.

No response.

She sighs again. "I see we are going to reach no end. Let us drop the matter, shall we?" Obi-Wan nods.

"Yes, let's." He turns and begins walking in the direction of the planned conversion point a ways away.

* * *

"General Skywalker, it's past check-in, and Net and Blaster failed to report." Anakin stands steadily with his hands clasped behind his back, ignoring the message given from his captain. He remains stiff as a board, never shifting. Rex walks to his front and sees the look of deep thought placed on Anakin's face. He steps just the slightest bit closer hoping to bring his leader out of his mind.

Rex has seen the look before, many times actually. It was a look of remembrance and, as Rex has found out, is a very dangerous look for Anakin to have. It's a look that means broken rules. It's a look of feeling. It's a look of _attachment, _and that, that is the most dangerous thing for a Jedi to do. Become attached.

And that is exactly what Anakin has done, though Rex will never tell anyone that.

He grips General Skywalker's arm insistently and makes sure no one is within hearing distance.

"Anakin," he calls urgently and shakes the limb he has in his grasp. "You need to snap out of it. It's not safe, if someone sees you in such a state, they are bound to tell the Council." He shakes harder this time and successfully brings back his friend from the past. He steps back and takes his place as is nothing has just transpired between the two.

"Captain Rex," Anakin recognizes. He fixes his stance and puts on a mask of indifference. "You were saying?"

"Right. The two troopers, Net and Blaster, failed to report in." Anakin nods thoughtfully while mentally counting how much time has passed.

"We can't wait for them any longer to return either. Contact them and see if you can get their location. Either way, we need to move now. Masters Obi-Wan and Luminara are expecting us."

"On it, sir." Rex stands at attention before turning and heads off. He brings his com link up close enough and sends his transmission. "Net. Blaster. Do you come in?" He listens for a response, but only hears the never ending static. "Troopers, do you come in?" He shakes his head in irritation when he yet again is met with silence on their end. He is prepared to cut the transmission when he hears a shift in the static.

"_What do you think they are going to do to them?" _the very diacritic voice of a droid drones.

"Damn," he mutters. He turns and runs back to his leader. "General, Net and Blaster have been captured. What should we do, sir?"

"Gather all the men, we need to move now. We can't risk the droids finding us now." Rex accepts the answer, but can't hide his minor concern for his troopers.

"And Net and Blaster, sir?" he asks. Anakin sighs.

"Hopefully we can find them along the way." Rex, knowing this is the best Anakin can offer, leaves to gather all the troops.

"Alright boys. . ."

* * *

Net and Blaster hide within the crevice of the canyon just out eyesight. Blaster sits closer to the entrance keeping his eyes and ears open for any more movement. Net, on the other hand, leans back lazily kicking his feet out awaiting Blaster's okay to move.

"They're not going to find us in here, you can relax," Net comments while tossing his hands behind his head. Blaster turns to his comrade and rolls his eyes in annoyance as a scoff escapes his lips.

"You never know what's out there," he responds. His attention turns back to the opening and his eyes widen when he spots incoming clankers.

"I know but I'm just saying -" Net goes to reply, but an unexpected hand reaches and covers his mouth. His words of protest are muffled, but his eyes get the point across.

"Be quiet, there are droids out," Blaster whispers. Net nods his confirmation and removes Blaster's hand.

"They're too stupid to look in here." Net claims. "There's no way we are going to be found out." Just as the words leave his mouth, his com link beeps and Rex's voice fills the small crevice with noise.

"_Net. Blaster. Do you come in?" _Both of theirs eyes widen dramatically. Of all the times to get a call. . .

Blaster quickly covers the transmission hoping that is was not heard by their enemy. They scoot back as far as they can and strain their ears to hear the conversation taking place.

"Huh? I think I heard something," they hear a droid say. "It came from over there."

"Well, check it out," another one commands. They stay as still as they possibly can when they hear the footsteps move closer. A shadow covers the entrance. The two hidden clones hold their breath and hope they are hidden enough. They wait for what feels like hours before the shadow disappears.

"I guess it was nothing," the droid tells the others. Slowly, the two clones move back to their previous positions so that they can make sure the droids are as far away as necessary.

"Stupid droids," Net mumbles before shouting. His foot catches a blaster which falls to the floor and fires a shot from the impact. They dodge quickly as it bounces off the walls and make to dive out of the crevice when it comes to close.

They uncover their head and look up from their position on the floor to see they have been surrounded.

"Well what do we have here?" one droid asks.

"It seems these clones were hiding in that crevice over there," another one answers. They all sit for a moment in silence, looking at each other. "What do we do now?"

"Bring them with us," the first commands. As the two clones are being lifted off the floor, Net inconspicuously clicks the button on his wrist which effectively turns on his communication.

* * *

"What do you see, Cody?" Obi-Wan asks. The squad is waiting at the edge of the cliff looking down at the Separatist base.

"There's a whole lot of clankers, sir. It's going to be a tough fight."

"It always is," Obi-Wan agrees. "Do you have eyes on Anakin?"

"Negative, sir." Obi-Wan sighs and stands from his crouched position.

"We'll have to move ahead without them then. We have no more time to waste." Cody scopes the area one last time not expecting to see anything, but spots a small herd of men on the backs of heavy hoofed creatures across the way on the other side of the canyon.

"General Kenobi, there's something you need to see." Cody points in the direction and Obi-Wan's eyes follow. He spots figures on the backs of large animals, the ends of their scarf-like head covers billowing in the wind. He watches as one, seemingly the leader, raises the inside wrist to mouth level for a moments time before lowering it back down. Obi-Wan's eyes narrow in suspicion. He's prepared to call out to the figures as a horse like nicker gently fills his ears.

The animals grow antsy and continuously pound their feet onto the hard, dusty ground. Brown clouds swirl up effectively hiding the people. Obi-Wan hears another single neigh, and when the dust clears, the figures are gone.

He turns back to Cody confused, who in return answers, "I don't know, sir." He turns the ground and notices the pebbles begin to tremble. A thunderous like roar shakes their bodies and makes the hair on their necks stand. A yellow and grey starfighter comes from the direction of the figures and towards Obi-Wan. It flies over their heads before shooting straight towards the stars.

Before it left, however, it turned upside down for the slightest of seconds. Though it was not much, Kenobi makes out the darkened cloak of a hooded figure and the white helmet of a clone. He also can't help but compare the detail of the starfighter to that of the one Anakin lost nearly two years ago. As he watches it go, he feels as if something was about to transpire. What is was, he did not know, but it could not have been very good.

Luminara walks over to Kenobi who turns to her thoughtfully and says, "I did not realize there were renegades in the system." Luminara has no response and they turn together to relay the plan to the troopers.

* * *

Commander Cody awaits patiently with the rest of his men. His eyes follow General Kenobi's movements just in case he signals them to move. He hears his men shift uneasily as they all itch for a good fight.

"Easy boys," he calmly commands. They all settle awaiting further orders. Cody turns back to the General and watches as he force jumps to the top of the wall and silently takes out the droids on watch. On the other side of the base, he notices Luminara do the same. He grips his blaster tighter, knowing it will soon be his turn to act.

Obi-Wan turns to Cody's position and signals them to start. Cody turns to his men and nods. "Toss 'em up boys." Immediately, they all throw bombs at the doors of the base. He listens as they shout their battle cries and rush forward. He smiles the slightest bit before rushing in alongside them.

* * *

Net releases another bored and irritated sigh hoping that it will draw Blaster's attention, who is currently ignoring him.

"This isn't my fault you know," Net tries. Blaster scoffs in response. "Fine," Net grumbles, "be that way." Blaster rolls his eyes and shifts the slightest bit away. Net mumbles incoherently under his breath. Suddenly he turns to Blaster. "You know, if it's anyone's fault it's yours. _You _shouldn't have left the kriffing blaster where you did."

"Do you ever shut up?" Blaster asks.

"No," Net states proudly. "I don't."

Blaster shakes his head. "That's not something to be proud of." Net childishly makes a face at Blaster before turning away again. They sit in silence until they hear the loud blasts and see small amounts of rubble fall from the ceiling. Net glances up in interest.

"Looks like the cavalry is here. How long do you think it will take them to find us?"

"Not soon enough," Blaster mutters quietly.

"I heard that," Net cries indignantly. Blaster groans and tosses his head into the back wall. They better hurry up.

* * *

Obi-Wan and Luminara stand defensively, back to back, fighting off incoming droids.

"There's more than I expected," he tells the other master. "Anakin better get here soon."

"I agree," Luminara responds distractedly. The both block shot after shot before rushing in opposite directions, cutting down everything in their path. They run together to help out the clones. Slowly, the come to realize there are too many and the will soon be over ridden. The group folds into itself in hopes that the defensive tactic will survive another wave.

They all shake unsteadily when a bomb goes off. Obi-Wan looks in its direction to find Anakin and his squad fighting their way over. It doesn't take long for them all to merge.

"It's about time you showed up," Obi-Wan says slightly out of breath.

"I knew you missed me, old man."

"Old man?" Kenobi huffs. "I'll show you old."

"If you two are done?" Luminara buts in. Anakin chuckles in response and turns back to fighting. Together with the combined forces it takes very little time to win the battle. After the last of the droids are slain, Anakin disarms his lightsaber and places it back on the clip. Everyone draws together to congratulate each other on yet another victory. Laughter fills the air and a wave of happiness coats over the grounds.

"Wait, wait, wait," a clone calls out. Everyone turns to him. "Does anyone hear that?" Everyone collectively quiets down and strains their ears to hear the sound. A slightly muffled, screeching voice flitters into their ears.

"_Hello!" _it screams._ "We're still waiting!" _They all turn to each other in confusion. After a short pause another, slightly deeper, voice calls out.

"_Someone get me away from this kriffing lunatic!" _

"_Hey!" _the first voice says clearly feeling offended. Chuckles escape the lips of Anakin's men as they realize who it is they're hearing. They see Rex, who has removed his helmet, roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Someone go get those two," he commands. A single clone nods and takes off as the rest stand and chuckle. Another typical end after a battle with droids.

* * *

Anakin is standing stiffly while talking with Master Mace Windu. It isn't that he hates the man, he just happens to strongly dislikes him. So, it is no surprise that he feels like bashing his head every time he gets berated for a job well done. Currently he is fighting very hard with himself to withhold a snarky and extremely rude comment back. He 'listens intently' while picturing small, humorous ways he can end his own suffering.

"_. . . and another thing . . ." _he hears Windu start again and grumbles in irritation. It takes minutes, possibly hours, for the man to finish his rant. When it stops, Anakin sighs in relief.

"Will that be all, master?" He hopes to all things that the answer is yes.

"No." Anakin groans in disbelief. Windu either doesn't hear him or is choosing to ignore it. "You are needed on Kamino. Shaak Ti is having trouble with a rogue clone."

"Of course, master." Anakin cuts off the transmission with a roll of his eyes and heads towards his star fighter.

* * *

Luminara glances in concern as Obi-Wan explains the figures and star fighter he saw. She did see the fighter, but not the people.

"What do you think they reported? And to whom would they report it to?" she asks him.

"I haven't the slightest clue," he tells her. "But I feel that we are missing something. Whatever it is, we better keep our eyes open." Luminara nods and they turn just in time to see Anakin's fighter leave the planet.

* * *

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